Kansas to Debate Sportsbetting Law

A day after neighboring Missouri introduced a bill that would legalize sportsbetting, the state of Kansas is following suite, with a committee hearing on the activity to be held in January.

There hasn't been a bill officially introduced, but there has been hearing dates set to debate the merits of legalizing sportsbetting in The Sunflower State. The debate will center on tax rates, whether or not to allow mobile betting, and how to fight fraud and match fixing. It's thought that sportsbetting could bring in $75 million in tax revenue per year.

Speaking on the matter state Senator and Committee Chairman Bud Estes said, "I don't want to skate on thin ice on something we don't know anything about. If we start passing legislation for interest groups, we could make a real mess. We need to be educated. I'm not going to let my committee go out and pass a lot of legislation right out of the bag. We need to be smarter before we do it."

The Supreme Court overturned the sportsbetting ban earlier this year, and there are now eight states that have legalized the activity within their borders.

We'll follow this story and update readers as we learn more.